1975

It's Sunday, April 13, 1975, and everyone's just mad about Harry. Even Bobby Knight ...

Oh, Kentucky

Christmas parades: Georgetown, Dec. 2, and Lexington, Dec. 6.

It's Burger Week, and Corbin's Travis' Cafe is blowing my mind with news of its "Quesadilla Burger."

The Henderson Farmers Market says "a big 'Thank You,' to the gentlemen in their lives."

Congratulations to the White House News Photographers Association’s 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, J. Scott Applewhite, formerly of the College Heights Herald, The Gleaner and The Courier-Journal.

The Glasgow Daily Times' Gina Kinslow, another pro formerly of the Herald, sticks to just the facts, ma'am, in economically reporting the Cave City council session that resulted in the purchase of land from a member of the council.

Upon reading Darrell Bird's very interesting report for Cats Pause on Mitch Barnhart's experience on the NC2A selection committee for the men's basketball tournament, my feeling is now that the committee should, instead of meeting all season over which teams are selected for the tournament and how they're seeded, should meet all offseason over the mathematical formula by which the tournament is selected and seeded. And I believe those meetings should be open and streamed live at the NC2A website.

Placing Jefferson Davis in context, at long last.

Kuttawa is amping up its tourism game.

Good jobs news from Whitley County.

Here's the Hazard Bombers' jingle.

Seventy-six ANU-Pikeville Eagles are set to receive degrees and diplomas next week at the Church of Christ in Coal Run.

I didn't yet know to worry about this vinegar fly, but that's all over now.

Book review: All Around the Town by Phyllis McGinley

Have you ever heard of Phyllis McGinley? I had not. 

But, a few years ago, I picked up an alphabet book of hers at a library book sale, a 1948 first edition of All Around the Town that had been discarded from the shelves of Montgomery County Schools in Clarksville, Tenn. I certainly hope Alex Poythress got to read it when he was a little boy. 

Q is for the Quietness

Of Sunday avenues

When silence walks the city

In her pretty velvet shoes;

When trucks forget to rumble,

And from steeples everywhere

The bells of Sunday morning

Ring their questions on the air.

Man, that is some writing right there. The whole book's great, delivering a vivid imagining of what about city life might grab the attention of a child in adult (but not lofty) language. It's like Aunt Phyllis flies in to New York to babysit her preschool niece for a weekend; the child acts as the visiting adult's tour guide along a walk all around the town (hence, the name), and then, on the flight home, Aunt Phyllis dashes off the most awesome and totally authentic thank-you letter to her niece--along with a $20 bill to go out and buy herself a good dictionary.

Also, the artwork, by Helen Stone, is just beautiful.

"E is the Escalator ..."

"G's the gay Good-Humor man ..."

"U is for Umbrellas ..."

And so forth.

The culture apparently lost interest in Phyllis McGinley, but I don't care. Just from this one book it's clear that this woman is an absolute pro, and I'll be on the lookout to find more of her stuff.

Highly recommended for preschoolers who are not growing up in cities, adults who would like to learn how to have better conversations with preschoolers and fans of Mad Men who were rooting for Don and Betty to stay together but who now at least hope that Don remains faithful to his new wife.

Oh, Kentucky

And the beat goes on.

Yes, Harrodsburg realizes, too.

Madisonville's barefoot "Boscoe" France is No. 1 in the nation.

I should point out that I prefer the disconcerting news about birds to that of snakes.

And then there are the deer.

Urgh.

Good jobs news from Elizabethtown. Eddyville, too? And Capital City?

"Capital City?" I'm pretty sure they must've meant Central City.

"U.S. Fuel Corporation?"

Hazard is hiring someone new to go to sleep to.

Boom time for Family Dollar.

Congrats to the Clement grads!

Kentucky's ACT scores are up.

So are Kentucky's exports.

The new Marshall County High School Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame class includes stars from the 1948 Brewers boys' basketball state champs and 1980 Lady Marshals' non-champs.

Courage in Munich, in Georgetown.

Rest in peace, Mr. Cooley, former Prestonsburg mayor and "a very helpful, top-of-the-line person."

I Am Watching the Olympics (Day i)

Women's soccer qualifying is already underway, and the Great Britain homegirls are up on New Zealand, 1-0, in penalty time or injury time or extra time or whatever they call it in soccer.

U.S. Open Wrap-Up: Round 1

Thanks so much to Eric, who did a great job covering the first round of the National Open from the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

This club has featured an odd collection of U.S. Opens. The first Open held here was in 1955. Ben Hogan finished with 287, and was widely believed to have won his fifth National Open. But Jack Fleck, a municipal-course pro from Iowa, played the last four holes in two under par to force a playoff. Fleck then beat Hogan 69-72 in the playoff. Hogan never won another major tournament.

The second Open here was in 1966. This time Arnold Palmer had a seven-shot lead with only nine holes left. Amazingly, Palmer blew the entire lead with bogeys on 10, 13, 15, 16, and 17, and just barely parred 18 to force a playoff with Billy Casper. In the playoff, Palmer had a two-shot lead at the turn. But he collapsed on the back nine, and lost 69-73 to Casper. Palmer never won another major tournament.

The third Open here was in 1987. This turned into a battle between Scott Simpson (who won 7 tournaments in his PGA career) and Tom Watson (who won 39). Watson had a one-shot lead with nine holes to go. But Simpson overtook him down the stretch to win by one shot. Watson never won another major tournament.

The fourth Open here was in 1998. After three holes on Sunday, Payne Stewart led Lee Janzen by seven shots. But he blew the entire lead and eventually lost to Janzen by one shot. Remarkably, Stewart came right back and won the 1999 U.S. Open. However, he died in a tragic accident a few months later.

So now, as we approach the fifth Open at Olympic, I'm a little nervous about what will happen to Tiger Woods. On the other hand, it may help that Woods is a native Californian, that he played his college golf at Stanford, and that he's already won two National Opens in California. Certainly he looked like his old self today. But it should be a great tournament. The leaderboard after the first round is filled with big names -- although I've never heard of the leader. Michael Thompson, is a virtual unknown who currently ranks 90th in the Fed Ex Cup. He did reach the final of the 2007 U.S. Amateur, which was played at Olympic, and that probably helped him today. We will see if it helps him tomorrow.

Before we do the leaderboard, here is how the World's Top Ten golfers are doing. You can write off Donald, McIlroy, Bubba, and Dustin Johnson, but the others have a good chance:

1. L. Donald (ENG): +9

2. R. McIlroy (NIR): +7

3. L. Westwood (ENG): +3

4. T. Woods: -1

5. B. Watson: +8

6. M. Kuchar: Even

7. J. Rose (ENG): -1

8. H. Mahan: +2

9. J. Dufner: +2

10. D. Johnson: +5

And here are your leaders after Round 1:

1. M. Thompson: -4 (66)

T2. G. McDowell (NIR): -1 (69)

T2. N. Watney: -1 (69)

T2. J. Rose (ENG): -1 (69)

T2. T. Woods: -1 (69)

T2. D. Toms: -1 (69)

T7. J. Furyk: Even (70)

T7. M. Kuchar: Even (70)

T7. I. Poulter (ENG): Even (70)

T7. Mr. Beau Hossler (a): Even (70)

T7. J. Bohn: Even (70)

T7. J.B. Park (KOR): Even (70)

T7. R. Karlsson (SWE): Even (70)

T7. A. Presnell (AUS): Even (70)

Note: Mr. Beau Hossler is a 17-year-old high school student from Orange County, California. He actually qualified for last year's Open at Congressional Country Club, but he missed the cut.

Kicking It Old School

The Sweet 16 at the NCAA Tournament reads like the history of college basketball. Thirteen of the 16 remaining teams have won at least one national title. Together, these teams in the Sweet 16 account for 34 national championships:

Kentucky (7): 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998

N. Carolina (5): 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009

Indiana (5): 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987

Kansas (3): 1952, 1988, 2008

Florida (2): 2006, 2007

Michigan St. (2): 1979, 2000

Louisville (2): 1980, 1986

N. Carolina St. (2): 1974, 1983

Cincinnati (2): 1961, 1962

Syracuse (1): 2003

Marquette (1): 1977

Ohio St. (1): 1960

Wisconsin (1): 1941

Pretty much all the great powers are there except for UCLA, Duke and UConn.

Plus you have UK meeting Indiana in the tournament for the first time since 1983, and Cincinnati playing Ohio State for the first time ever since the 1962 title game, as well as the possibility for Elite Eight match-ups between Rick Pitino and Billy Donovan and UNC v. N.C. State.

Even a potential meeting between Kentucky and Baylor in the Elite Eight carries a lot of history; the Wildcats beat Baylor 58-42 to win the 1948 National Championship.

I have thought all year that this year's tournament would be really good, and I think it has been very good so far. Starting on Thursday, it should get even better.